Dietary recommendations for liver cancer

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Dear OncoLink "Ask The Experts,"
My partner is about to under go surgery for liver cancer. Are there any recommendations for diet before surgery and after surgery for liver cancer?

Ellen Sweeney, RD, registered dietitian at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania, responds:

There is no special pre-op diet for liver cancer surgery. The most important thing is to consume adequate calories and protein to maintain one's weight so that the patient is not nutritionally depleted going into surgery. It is even beneficial to gain some weight prior to surgery if there has been unintentional weight loss leading up to it. There should not be any limits placed on the patient's diet at this time unless the doctor has indicated otherwise.